The Legendary Junkmaster

Chapter 68: Double Trouble!

Jason was feeling on edge as he perched on one of the couches in his personal box. Harry grumbled about the vendor's cost of food and drinks as he sank into one of the other couches.

"What are you complaining about?" Jason rolled his eyes at his Gramps. "It's already the third day, so you know the food and drink in the room is part of the package. I don't get why you're insisting on buying food from those vendors!"

"Listen, boy! I like to know who made my food. How do you know that stuff hasn't been poisoned? Or that someone hasn't used their Power on an insect to make it appear and taste like that, but it's still a bug at its core?" Harry growled as he made sure to keep his stash out of Jason's reach. 

"Um, we're not dead yet, so it's definitely not poisoned. They wouldn't allow something like that to happen in here. Who would want to kill us anyway?" Jason felt compelled to roll his eyes for the second time already. "And I doubt that kind of Power exists in the first place!"

"Oh really! Well, how do you explain that one guy I knew in my twenties who could transform a whole bunch of things? Fair enough, we only survived that scavenging trip cause we ate spiders that looked and tasted like steak, but I swear I can still feel their legs in my mouth!" Harry went off on a rant as he looked around in his paranoia. "And who wouldn't kill us? Where will all our money go if we suddenly die, huh? Who's to know if a mountain of credits goes missing?"

Jason let out a long sigh at that. The part about the transformation Power was quite interesting, but the rest just sounded like paranoia. 'Maybe the wealth is getting to him? He's starting to see enemies where none exist.'

Jason turned to stare at the stage as the announcer from the first day made his way to its centre. "I hope you've all enjoyed the tournament so far. I know what you're here for, so let's get to it. The lots have been drawn, and the first two contestants to fight for their place in the finals are Danielle Kane and Samantha Forrest!"

Jason frowned as the names were called out. Dani was stuck facing Sam, who was already aware of almost all of her tricks, while Dani was entirely in the dark! Jason felt conflicted about this fight. Although he wanted Dani to win, he half hoped that Sam could last enough that she was forced to display her Power. 

Jason's eyes flickered between the two women as the announcer left the stage. Once they had both taken up their positions, Jason felt the urge to down the wine that had been provided. The entire audience was on edge as they waited for the bell to sound!

'Why is she wearing that coat?' On the other hand, Jason had focused on Sam's choice to wear a grey-furred trench coat into the fight.

Jason was startled as the bell rang! Dani immediately teleported to Sam's left and swung her Storm, charged with electricity towards Sam's ribs. Sam reacted quickly and avoided the blow, then she took two steps back and waited for Dani to make another move.

Jason's eyes narrowed at that point. It was evident that Sam actually had some experience in melee combat. She was clearly using it to her advantage as she studied how Dani moved as she avoided Dani's attacks.

Once a few of these exchanges had happened, Sam reached inside her coat and pulled out two of the Riot's she had purchased from Al. The crowd gasped at that sight. After all, this meant that at least three of the four semi-finalists were using equipment from Star Gear! 

Sam flicked her right wrist to turn the Primal in that hand into a short spear while keeping the one in her left hand in its baton form. Dani appeared to hesitate at that point. If she pushed her assault, her opponent would be able to tie up her weapon with one of her own and still be free to counterattack. 

Dani grit her teeth as Sam decided to go on the offensive instead. Even Jason had to admit that it was clear that Sam had spent a significant amount of time training in a dual-wielding technique. Whenever Dani tried to shock her, Sam would block it with her left Primal before attacking with her right. 

Sam's weapons were of the version where Jason had attached rubber grips to them, so Sam couldn't receive even a jolt from Dani's Storm. Dani tried her best to hold her own in close combat, even resorting to multiple teleportations to try and throw Sam off. However, she kept losing ground as Sam repelled everything that Dani could throw at her.

Dani eventually teleported out of that situation and placed herself close to the edge of the ring. Her tight-fitting robe now had holes in several spots where Dani's blood slowly leaked out. Jason clenched his jaw as he waited to see if Dani would unleash the Storm's hidden mechanism just like Adam had done with his Orochi.

Dani eyed Sam warily as the latter approached at a slow gait. Sam was not going to make the same mistake that plenty of others had. Rushing in to try and seize the victory when it was so close was a fool's errand in her eyes. She'd prefer to steadily win this fight to prevent Dani from pulling off any last moment tricks!

Once Sam had closed half of the distance between them, Dani pointed the Storm towards her. With a deep breath, she made a silent prayer to anyone listening before pushing a button on the Storm's grip!

Ten darts suddenly ejected from the Storm. Each of them carried enough of an electrical charge to floor most Powered individuals. Sam grinned when she saw that. She had been expecting Dani's weapon to hide something else after watching Adam's last fight! 

Sam grabbed the edge of her coat and used it to shield herself! The dull sound of the darts being deflected by her coat sounded like rain falling on a flat roof. As soon as the sound stopped, Sam quickly moved in to assault Dani. 

Dani felt the pressure under Sam's relentless assault and eventually began to make mistakes. As damage accumulated and her arm was broken, Dani had no choice but to surrender before it went too far!

Jason had stood up at some point and gripped the half wall barrier. His knuckles had turned white as he looked down on the arena stage. 'Dani lost'